The quake was the biggest to hit Central Taiwan since the 7.3-magnitude quake on September 21, 2009 which killed more than 2,400 people nationwide, but no deaths were reported Thursday.

The main quake’s epicenter was located at a relatively short distance of 19.3 kilometer under the surface 10.3 kilometer southeast from the township of Mingchien, where the tremor’s intensity reached seven, the Central Weather Bureau said.

The same area was hit by several aftershocks during the rest of the day, the first registering 4.7 about six minutes later. The biggest, measuring 5.7, struck Mingchien at 7:34 p.m., according to the bureau.

The quakes caused light injuries by falling objects inside buildings and forced the high-speed rail line to suspend traffic in Central and Southern Taiwan.

A female student was taken to hospital after she was injured by pieces of the ceiling falling down at the Tzuming High School in Taichung County, the fire service said. Cracks appeared in houses in Mingchien, with ceilings and walls damaged at a local government building.

There were also reports of hundreds of households in the Nantou area losing electricity and phone service.

High-speed rail traffic stopped all along the line as a security precaution, but service between Taipei and Taichung resumed after 7 p.m., reports said.